Former Deadspin Writers Form New Subscription Website, With Podcast Coming First

Podcast

The writers and editors who resigned en masse from sports website DEADSPIN in a dispute over editorial interference by new management last year have formed a new subscription sports-and-culture website that will launch with a podcast featuring two of the more prominent names among the staff.

DEFECTOR is expected to debut in SEPTEMBER but the podcast, "THE DISTRACTION," will be posting beginning AUGUST 13th via STITCHER. DREW MAGARY and DAVID ROTH, who co-hosted DEADSPIN's DEADCAST podcast before the walkout, will host the new show.

DEADSPIN's staff, known for irreverence and posting about non-sports topics including politics, rebelled against new owners G/O MEDIA and investors GREAT HILL PARTNERS' edict that the site should "stick to sports," leading the writers to resign after defiantly posting a series of non-sports articles. After a hiatus, G/O revived the DEADSPIN brand with new writers.

The former DEADSPIN staffers on board for the new venture besides MAGARY (who will bring his popular "Funbag" and "Why Your Team Sucks" series to the site) and ROTH are Editor-in-Chief TOM LEY, BARRY PETCHESKY, investigative reporter DIANA MOSKOVITZ, veteran SAN FRANCISCO sportswriter and ENTERCOM Sports KGMZ (95.7 THE GAME)/SAN FRANCISCO host RAY RATTO, MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN, ALBERT BURNEKO, DAVE MCKENNA, DAN MCQUADE, SAMER KALAF, KELSEY MCKINNEY, BILLY HAISLEY, GIRI NATHAN, PATRICK REDFORD, LAUREN THEISEN, CHRIS THOMPSON, and LUIS PAEZ-PUMAR.

« see more Net News